A computer operating system typically includes a registry that stores information associated with software applications executing in the operating system. For example, a system registry may store option values that control the behavior of the software application. Other computer operating systems lack a system registry, and the option values are stored in other data structures. The operating systems typically lack a standard, uniform method for accessing and retrieving the option values. As a result, applications that run in different operating system environments typically include multiple interfaces for accessing and retrieving the option values.